Signifying Everything

The death of dubstep

I’m not an expert on dubstep, but I've encountered it out and about, and it’s been an enjoyable romp… but now I hear it’s dead.

Why? Because dub has hit the mainstream, and we know this because dubstep’s darker, discordant, bass-heavy electronica sound showed up a few months ago in advertising for Resident Evil, McDonalds… and Weetabix, of all brands. This represents a key transformation of dub style that’s been resented in some quarters- Twitter and the blogosphere have lit up with fury—dubstep is dead! DEAD I tell you!

Of course, the question is, why does an association with some mainstream brands= death for the dub sound, rather than an association with dubstep= freshness for brand executions?

Though the use of dubstep in a mainstream venue such as advertising can feel troubling to fans because it challenges subcultural ownership of the sound, this is also about the specific brands with which dubstep is being associated.

Resident Evil – well, yes. The connections between gamer culture, tech, utopia, and darkness (thus the ever-present threat of dystopia that comes with surges of innovation and technology) are all there and fit dubstep’s dark electronic sound.

But McDonalds? Weetabix? Using dubstep to represent these brands is a classic example of inverting key brand codes to disrupt and redirect consumer expectation. Each brand has varying levels of success with this approach.

McDonalds fails to bridge the gap between brand and sound

Despite their current call for adults to 'revolt and embrace lunch again', the core McDonalds brand is broadly defined by the promise of consistency, and satisfaction of simple, at times childlike pleasures and expectations. In the ad, this is manifested via easily recognizable components- a skater park shot with crystalline clarity on a bright day, and two young guys just hanging out and enjoying their Chicken McBites.

But, this execution also features a dubby remix of the McDonald’s jingle and the two guys (Bones and Aaron- ‘extreme street dance’ celebrities) in a playful dance battle over the box of McBites. The dubby McDonalds jingle sounds somewhat McDonalds, somewhat not. The ‘extreme street dance’ style can only be described as making the body move in ways that don’t seem possible for human beings- again, familiar, but different. Both elements bring an air of the extraordinary and unexpectedness to the execution and McDonalds.

But the thing is, these two components are presented as normal in this light, bright McDonald’s world, despite their unexpectedness. Even when it’s shown that the McBites inspire the street fight (essentially, the product making consumers do extraordinary things, catalyzed by the presumed deliciousness of the McBites), there is only a tenuous conceptual bridge for the viewer.

By including these elements as just another everyday aspect of brand, the ad drives cognitive dissonance. How does the multi-textured dub sound and spectacle of Bones and Aaron moving their bodies into eerily impossible contortions correlate to the home of the Happy Meal or even Chicken McBites’ ‘great homestyle flavor’? Bones and Aaron are ‘home grown’ in a sense, self-made street performers known to a specific youth target- but since street dance is already their thing, the premise of the ‘product as catalyst’ falls down.

Weetabix lets the new sound create a new world

In contrast, Weetabix maintains break-through, and skirts the dissonance caused by code inversion by framing out the dubstep moment into a more complete space of fantasy and performance facilitated by the brand.

Here, dub is used to signal a shift from the real to the unreal. Framing, light quality, over-the top editing and the animated dancing teddy-bear crew make it clear that we’re viewing an alternate space where the rules are different and little girls dubstep powerfully. The execution is free to expose and explore new and interesting terrain for the brand (particularly energy, exuberance, joyful play), and celebrates dubstep along the way. The result broadens, rather than directly challenges brand expectations- since it’s acknowledged that there isn’t really a relationship between Weetabix and dub, but one is being created.

I do think there’s a thought and lesson for brands here- understand the bounds of brand stretch, even in the case of code inversion – don’t ‘kill’ culture – find a way to leverage it that makes sense for the brand.

Responding (2)

15 May 2012 at 5:33 pm

Ramona says:

Hello Dan,

Your comments here are fascinating, thank you so much for posting. I think here it might be helpful to think about how McDonalds constructs its brand image and product story. Though the dubstep track may feel like it’s a match for the somewhat weird and discomfiting tableau in the ad, this is advertising and I’m compelled to ask how ‘weird and discomfiting’ (and the dissociation you describe) fits with the idea of ‘McDonalds.’

What I’m saying is that there is a symbolic significance to creating and presenting a dubstep McDonalds jingle. The key may lie in the thought that in presenting a dubstep jingle, McDonalds acknowledges a mutual understanding with consumers- that is, ‘We understand you, your world is part of ours, and more importantly, our world is part of yours.’ But, my argument is that the seams are showing in this representation; it’s difficult to stitch ‘McDonalds world’ and ‘consumer world’ together in a way that seems ‘true’ to McDonalds’ longstanding and fundamental brand image. There are arguably a few quick clues in the soundtrack (that is, when the McDonalds jingle comes in, you now things have switched up), but I don’t think they’re enough.

I feel that this improbable connection (between dubstep and McDonalds- improbable precisely because dubstep does have that dissociative quality) is better explored in the fantasy realm presented by Weetabix. By doing so, the brand acknowledges the improbability without eradicating the fun that can be had with it. Consumers like exploring contradictions and improbabilities (think of the popularity of the Old Spice ads) but need the space to do so.

2 May 2012 at 9:39 pm

Dan says:

“The heaviness of ketamine is magic with sub-bass. The dissociation that it gives fits perfectly with the dark, mechanical feeling of the music. And the psychedelic neon-like effects of the drug fits perfectly with the alien feeling of dubstep. In fact, I find that dubstep is the exact same feeling that ketamine gives: a tension between wilderness and mechanization, a tension between being hollow and being holy…. . There’s a quote from Fight Club that describes exactly what I’m trying to say: ‘Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom.'” -some person

Looking back at your analysis of the McDonalds ad I find it interesting when you claim it creates a “tenuous conceptual bridge for the viewer” because that’s exactly how I feel dubstep would relate with the material. It creates an alien, mechanical environment, perhaps even situation, but with a “holy” tension brought on by its ties to the organic or home-image McDonalds wants to portray. And yes, it brings on dissociative feelings much like a heavy dose of ketamine brings on a K-hole. The viewer may question if this McDonalds inspired experience is reality, and it’s a bit weird and uncomfortable. But perhaps this is why I think it works compared to Weebtabix and their complete separation of fantasy from reality.